Education on the other side

Author: Li Mao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features:
The most popular class among students is perhaps due to Mr. Olman's energetic and passionate demeanor. His vivid and humorous delivery, profound knowledge, and the eye contact he maintains with students all deeply attract them. In the eyes of British students, what does a popular class look like? To find the answer to this question, Matthew Geoffrey, a teacher at Letmore High School in the West End of London, became a student observer:
Recently, in an English class, I discussed with students what their ideal school would be like. More free time, less homework, and no school uniforms—these are all understandable demands for eighth-grade students aged 12 or 13. However, there were also some extreme suggestions. For example, one girl hoped to have no teachers at all, while a boy strongly advocated for the immediate reinstatement of corporal punishment. Another student made a request: "We want more classes like Mr. Olman's." This immediately drew unanimous agreement from the children. I was not surprised by this, as Mr. Olman, a history teacher with nearly 40 years of experience, has always been deeply respected by his students. Nevertheless, out of curiosity and a touch of envy, I couldn’t help but ask the children why they liked his class so much.
"We learned a lot."
"It was very interesting!"
"I don’t know, his class is just good."
Their responses motivated me to find Mr. Olman and ask him if I could observe one of his classes. I did not experience a crisis of confidence in my own teaching; in fact, I love teaching very much. I just couldn’t help but wonder: how does he make his students so enthusiastic about his classes? To understand what happens in the classroom, it is very difficult to rely solely on talking to the teacher; being there in person yields more insights. Observing classes was part of a teacher training program I participated in six years ago, but I never expected that from the time I obtained my teaching qualification to the day I walked into another teacher’s classroom would be so many years. A few days later, I sat in the back of Mr. Olman’s classroom. He placed great importance on using visual images, and before the formal lesson began, he played a series of slides using a projector. As students entered the classroom, they were greeted by dim lighting and the hum of the projector. Mr. Olman stood by the teacher’s desk, greeting them one by one. All of this created a unique atmosphere. In a way, the next 30 minutes were quite ordinary. Many teacher training programs encourage teachers to organize various activities in a single lesson to cater to students’ "multiple intelligences." For example, activities involving physical movement are believed to benefit students with "bodily-kinesthetic intelligence," while discussions and interactions among students are thought to be beneficial for those with "interpersonal intelligence." Mr. Olman did not have his students discuss with each other or leave their seats, yet he kept their attention firmly throughout the class. His success, I believe, can be attributed to the following three reasons:
First, almost all the content is presented in the form of questions. And it is clear that all students are confident